Tag: travel

  • Bicycles on a tapa

    Bicycles on a tapa

    This amazing piece of tapa is housed in a beautiful building in Hokitika: Renton Hardware Building. The piece features what looks like columns, writing and bicycles. There is little information about it and anyone with any knowledge or ideas about its origin can leave a comment below or send an email. These will be passed…

  • Lindzeanne

    Lindsey “Lindzeanne” Gradolph is a textile artist who uses embroidery to explore and fill spaces. Basing her practice on the Japanese idea of wasting nothing – mottainai – Lindsey uses sashimi threads and hand-sewing to create dense textures and patterns on objects and cloth.

  • Of Paisley, Aunty Mary’s bloomers and A Mystery.

    Of Paisley, Aunty Mary’s bloomers and A Mystery.

    Isn’t it surprising what turns up in unexpected corners of the world? This week an invitation to visit a friend with a collection turned out to be unexpectedly fun! The small town of Hokitika is just down the road from Greymouth Mawhera and is surrounded by farmland. It also has some spectacular scenic drives, being…

  • The choir

    A few weeks ago a new singing group started in Greymouth. This week the group started to learn a piece of music that will be familiar to many readers… and listeners: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen. The choir has been lots of fun. There plenty of laughter alongside some serious learning, and the group is…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a curated list of music (and sometimes sound) is made on the streaming platform: Spotify. The list goes alongside the blog, featuring audio from different artists and countries that appear in the weekly newsletter or that reflect current events. For those with a paid subscription to Spotify, you will hear the tracks in…

  • The New York Times series on young Africa

    The New York Times is running a series of articles focusing on the youth of Africa. The “youth boom” of the continent is changing both it and the wider world, altering perceptions and driving change through invention, creativity and energy. There is plenty to read in the articles including pieces about artists, designers and makers…

  • Whirimako Black

    Maori soul singer, performer and actress, Whirimako Black (Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit) is on tour and has just played the West Coast. One of the surprising things about many of the small settlements in Aotearoa New Zealand is the vitality and creativity of their art scenes. Barrytown, a very small township…

  • Think macrame was over in the 1970s?

    It is time to think again! Laurentine Périlhou, a French artist who has been working with the craft for almost ten years, is making waves with the reinvention of this ancient and traditional craft from the Arab world.

  • Conversation and Cloth: Caroline McQuarrie

    Conversation and Cloth: Caroline McQuarrie

    The last Conversation and Cloth event for the year will be a chat with artist Caroline McQuarrie. Caroline has roots in the West Coast and explores histories through photography, video and domestic crafts. In this Conversation With we will be talking about her works in woven images. The venue for the event will be the…

  • Of cloth, peacocks and Scandinavia

    Of cloth, peacocks and Scandinavia

    Each month a talk about something in the textile collection in Greymouth Mawhera is held in the Regent Theatre. This month’s event was about art textiles including textiles as artistic mediums, art on textiles, and textiles as art. The subject ranged from the French mid-century printed, woven and needleworks, created by artists and designers as…